Wild Times in Boston
by TheAdventuresofCirceandHype
Summary: Tintin and Rob are playing a board game with a lady friend. However, that game happens to be Jumanji, and it threatens to overtake all of Boston unless they can win!
1. Prologue: The Antique Store

**(Authors Note: This story was written by Hype, not me. He wrote it for me upon request. Because he's just so sweet like that. If you have any questions or comments I will gladly relay them to him and get back to you. Thank you and happy reading!)**

Tintin had a nose for adventure. Snowy had a nose for food, and the occasional bit of whiskey when he was able to lap some up. Being a dog, Snowy knew a lot about having a strong sense of smell. But he never did quite understand how Tintin was able to sniff out adventure. Adventure didn't have a conventional scent, as far as Snowy knew.

Yes, Snowy had been able to sniff out dangerous things in the past-bombs, fires, particularly smelly thugs...but Tintin could sniff out the start of an entire adventure, not just individual components.

Perhaps, Snowy thought, the term "a nose for adventure" didn't mean a literal nose. Perhaps it was like a sixth sense. Either way, Tintin had it, for better or for worse. While Snowy had seen amazing things that few other dogs or even people had seen, sometimes he wished for a normal life away from foreign espionage and desert treks. More games of fetch, more naps on a couch. A normal dog life.

Tintin had received a phone call from his friend Circe recently. They were invited to a small get-together with their friend Rob. Snowy had been relieved to hear this. It sounded like the makings of a normal day. Circe was a sweet woman, who was always playful and affectionate to Snowy. Rob was nice, even though his own pets were a little on the strange side. As Tintin and Snowy walked down to Rob's apartment, Snowy smiled a bit, trying to ignore the nagging feeling in the back of his head that Tintin would stumble into some sort of secret government coup, or witness a kidnapping, or some other nonsense that would send them across the world...it got so tiring after a while.

They were almost there! Snowy could see Rob's apartment building in the distance! Home free! That's when Tintin stopped walking and looked in the window of an antique shop.

"Great snakes!" cried Tintin. Snowy's eyes widened. That odd exclamation almost always led to the discovery of a stolen artifact to save or a drug smuggling ring to bust up. And they had been so close, too.

Filled with dread, Snowy looked up to see what Tintin had become so enthralled with this time. It was...a board game. A very nice board game, yes, but still just a board game. No cause for alarm.

Tintin eagerly entered the shop, followed by a relieved Snowy. The shop's old proprietor nodded at the two, but said nothing. He just sat back and smoked his pipe.

"That game in the window, sir," Tintin said eagerly, "how much is it?"

"Game in the window..." the old man repeated quietly, as if he were contemplating something.

Snowy's ears perked up. Somewhere in the shop, he thought he heard a quiet but steady sound of...tribal drums? It wasn't the kind of "easy listening" music that most stores played. Then again, this was a strange shop.

Meanwhile, the proprietor had risen from his seat and was showing Tintin the game.

"Jumanji," read Tintin. "A game for those who seek to find a way to leave their world behind."

"Brilliant piece of verse," Snowy sarcastically muttered to himself.

"That language," mused Tintin, "it sounds like...Zulu?"

The old man nodded. "You are familiar with the language?"

"Well," shrugged Tintin, "I did spend some time in the Congo a while back, but..." Tintin's voice trailed off as he appeared to be lost in thought. Snowy didn't notice, still trying to find whatever hidden speaker those tribal drums were coming from.

"The game is a dollar ninety-five," the proprietor said, snapping Tintin out of his daze.

Tintin was a bit surprised by the low price, but quickly paid for the game and left, with Snowy trailing behind him.

"It's strange that such a beautiful board game was so cheap," Tintin mused to Snowy. "I suppose we just got lucky, didn't we?"

Snowy was only half-listening, though. It was the oddest thing. Those drums he had heard in the shop must have been catchy, because that infectious rhythm was now stuck in his head. He could still hear their faint sound.


	2. Game On

Circe sat eagerly on the couch in Rob Wilco's apartment, waiting for Tintin and Snowy to arrive. Rob awkwardly sat in a chair next to the couch. On one side of Circe was a content Satchel Pooch, Rob's dog. Satchel's tail was lazily wagging and Circe lightly scratched behind his ears. On the other side of Circe sat a much less content Bucky Katt, Rob's grouchy feline. Circe would have liked to scratch Bucky behind the ears, too, but Bucky wasn't a "people cat" in any sense.

Rob cleared his throat, hoping to get Circe's attention. She turned to him with a glowing smile and kind eyes. Rob froze up. He had gotten her attention, yes, but now he had nothing to actually say. He hoped Tintin would get here soon. Tintin may have been somewhat of a romantic rival for the beautiful Circe, but Rob liked it when the pressure wasn't totally on him.

A knock on the door signaled Tintin's arrival and Rob's relief. He quickly let in Tintin and Snowy. Circe ran over and gave Tintin a huge hug. Snowy pawed at her leg and Circe happily picked the little terrier up.

"Where were you?" she giggled.

"Well, we were on our way," explained Tintin, "when I saw an interesting-looking board game in an antique shop window. The man there gave it to me for a very good price, and I just thought it would be fun."

"No offense," said Rob, "but you never really struck me as a board game type."

Tintin put the bag that the game was in on the table and took off his coat. "Normally I'm not, but something just drew me to this one. I was like I heard it calling me. Very strange."

"Is it Mousetrap?" Bucky asked, with a hint of interest.

"Bucky, you hate Mousetrap," Rob reminded him.

"I like the trap part," insisted Bucky. "It's just the two freakin' hours that Satchel spends trying to set up the trap that I hate."

"You could always help me set up the trap," mumbled Satchel, trying to stay positive as always.

"Too much work," replied Bucky. He hopped down from the couch, landing on Snowy who gave an angry "Woowah!" in response.

"Hey, watch it, Slushy," snapped Bucky, heading over to the bag.

Snowy shook himself off and shot Bucky a glare. "It's Snowy!"

"Nah, it's too nice out for that," Bucky called back, somewhat absentmindedly. He poked his head in the bag. "Tintin, you buy some kinda music player thingy, too?"

"No," said Tintin.

"Then where's that drummin' coming from?"

Everyone got very quiet and listened. Indeed, a faint drumming was coming from the bag. As they all gazed over, the drumming began getting faster and louder.

"I thought it was just in my head," Snowy said quietly.

"As did I," admitted Tintin. "You all hear that?"

Circe and Rob nodded. It sounded familiar to Circe, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she knew it from. As Tintin took the game out, the memories came racing back to Circe. The adventure. The nightmare fuel. The emotions. Jumanji.

The second the game was in full view, the drums stopped.

"What was that?" wondered Rob.

Tintin turned the game over. He looked inside. "No hidden speakers. Nothing inside that could make that noise. Very odd indeed."

Excitement was building inside Circe. No one but her seemed to be aware of the classic book-turned-movie. She knew that promotional versions of the game had been released, but this one really did look authentic. And those drums? It was hard to process the idea that they had a "real" Jumanji game with them.

"Does anyone want to play it?" Rob broke the silence that had befallen the room.

Satchel clapped his paws. Snowy and Tintin looked uncertain. Bucky looked bored. Circe nodded vigorously, too caught up in the moment to say a word.

Tintin took a look at the game instructions. It all seemed very straightforward. Almost childishly so. For such an interesting-looking game, there wasn't much to it. It sounded a bit like a glorified jungle version of Candyland.

"Maybe it would make a better decoration than anything," Tintin mused.

"No!" Circe cried quickly. "Let's play."

That was good enough for everyone else. Satchel and Snowy opted to sit the game out, since there were only four players, and Bucky insisted on playing to "beat a bunch of furless humans" even though he would most likely get bored after a few minutes.

Circe took a deep breath and rolled the dice.

"Seven!" She moved her piece.

In the center of the game, words appeared in a dark pool that everyone had assumed was an illustration. Everyone was startled by this, though Circe seemed to be a mixture of shocked and not surprised at all, if that was possible.

"Neat effects," commented Satchel, who was the only one who seemed unfazed.

The words of a short verse were visible.

"A peck may be worse than a bite

When feathered fiends are taking flight."

"What?" blinked Rob after reading the strange little couplet.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a flock of toucans filled the room. Everyone ducked for cover as the birds clawed and flapped around, just as confused as the game's players. Rob managed to make it over to a window, opening it and releasing the toucans into the world.

Bucky angrily spat out a mouthful of feathers. "Man, I couldn't even catch a little one! We coulda been eating some major delicacies!"

"What the hell was that?!" cried Rob, echoing pretty much everyone else's thoughts. "Did someone lose a tropical pet that laid eggs in the walls or something!"

Satchel laughed. "Better check the toilet for alligators!" His face suddenly went grim. "And now I just scared myself."

Snowy sniffed around. "I think they're all gone," he reported.

"Gone, yes," mused Tintin, looking out the window. "Now they're somewhere over Massachusetts. Very odd indeed."

Circe, who had been standing stoically ever since the toucans departed, quickly grabbed Jumanji's box, closing it.

"Guys," she panted, "I think that we should stop playing now."

"But my turn was next!" whined Bucky.

"We got off easy on this one," said Circe. "Next time, we will most definitely not be so lucky."

"Is there a connection?" asked Tintin.

Circe laughed sarcastically, then frowned. "Yeah. I'm really sorry. I should have told you all when Tintin pulled out that game, it's just...I didn't know if it was real...the real...I..."

Very quickly, Circe explained the children's book-turned-movie and the magical but dangerous game. Rob and Tintin nodded somewhat doubtfully, but it was still pretty hard to deny the sudden toucan invasion a minute prior.

"So if we don't finish the game, the toucans won't go away?" asked Rob, trying to place things all together.

"If all Boston has to worry about is some tropical birds, we're fine to stop," Circe stated firmly. "It could easily be much worse."

"Worse?" Satchel repeated nervously.

Bucky licked his lips hungrily. "Jungle animals," he whispered to himself.

"But we've released a completely alien species to the ecosystem," Tintin pointed out.

"That's not good for anyone," agreed Rob.

Circe sighed. "I care as much about nature as the next person, but we can't risk something worse coming out. We have to end this."

Their conversation was interrupted by Bucky's shrill cry of delight. "Daddy needs a new pair of manatees!"

Bucky had grabbed the dice and gleefully rolled them, hoping to snag something tasty.

"NO!" screamed Circe.

"Manatees aren't even jungle animals," Satchel pointed out weakly.

Bucky shrugged innocently. "Hey, what am I, National Geographic?"


	3. Apartment Escape

Rob looked like he was contemplating strangling his cat when Circe read the verse that appeared in a quivering voice.

"This will not be an easy mission. Monkeys spoil the expedition."

Bucky's grin couldn't have been wider. "Mmmmmonkeeeeeys," he drooled.

Circe snatched up Snowy. "We have to all get out of here," she hissed quietly.

A crash was heard from the kitchen. "Too late," moaned Circe.

Bucky's ears perked up. "The kitchen? How convenient."

Before anyone could stop him, Bucky ran into the next room. A second later, he bolted out, his fur standing completely on end. He sprang onto Tintin, clawing at him frantically. "The game you bought is broken!" he howled.

"It's working fine," Circe shot back as Rob tried to get his crazed cat off of Tintin. "Lucky us," she added sarcastically as the source of Bucky's fear made itself audible.

A group of five monkeys were ransacking the kitchen, taking great delight in smashing dishes, throwing chairs, gobbling food, and causing general mayhem. One by one, they stopped their ruckus and leered at the hapless apartment inhabitants with clear harmful intent.

"You worked at a zoo," Rob whispered to Circe. "What do we do?"

"These aren't zoo monkeys," Circe hissed back. "We run!"

One of the monkeys pointed at the group and let out a bloodcurdling screech. That was all the game's victims needed to hear before they bolted out the door, slamming it behind them. They didn't stop running until they were out of the apartment and across the street.

"My apartment," Rob moaned quietly. Tintin cleared his throat, feeling awkward. "Rob, I'm...um...I'm really sorry I bought that game."

"You really should have kept the receipt," Snowy commented.

"A receipt won't do any good now," said Circe, who was leaning against a wall, trying to catch her breath. "We need to finish that game before any more animals get loose. Plus," she added, turning to comfort the still-upset Rob, "when we beat the game, your apartment will go back to normal."

Rob looked up, somewhat dubious. "Is that how it works?"

"Something like that," said Circe. "In the book, everything is fixed, and in the movie, they go back in time to before they started the game. Either way, yeah, that's how it works."

"Whose turn is it?" asked Satchel, fearful of what might emerge next.

"I'll go," volunteered Tintin. He got ready to roll the dice when something suddenly occurred to all of them...they had left the game in the apartment.


	4. Apartment Escape II

Bucky was first to start the accusations. "It's those dogs' fault!"

"Are you joking?" Snowy shot back in disbelief.

"You'll know when I'm joking because my jokes are side-splitters," Bucky snorted.

"But me and the humans were the four players. That means it was you guy's job to carry the game in case of an emergency."

"I don't remember that part in the rules," Satchel said weakly.

"You're the one who unleashed those monster monkeys into our home," Rob sternly reminded Bucky.

Bucky shrugged innocently. "I was just playing the game, homey."

Tintin began to pace. "Either way, we need to get that game back."

"Or I could move?" Rob suggested. It was hard to tell if he was serious or not. Rob himself might not have even known.

"I'll get it," Tintin suddenly volunteered.

Snowy stood by Tintin's side. "I'm with you!"

Circe and Rob stepped forward next. "It's my apartment," Rob admitted. "And I know the game more than anyone else," Circe added.

Satchel gulped and joined the group. "I...I guess I should come, too."

Bucky thought for a second, and headed after them. "Well, those monkeys just caught me off-guard last time. They won't be so lucky in round two!"

The group quickly made their way into the apartment building and stood in the stairwell. Even downstairs, they could hear loud bangs and thumps coming from the monkeys.

"What's the plan?" asked Rob.

"In cases like this," mused Tintin, "I often improvise. I've gotten out of a lot of scrapes through sheer luck, I'll admit."

"Yeah, just like getting that game was a lucky break," snarked Bucky.

"I say we grab the game and run," suggested Circe. "Unless anyone can think of a better idea, that is."

No one could.

Soon, they stood in front of Rob's apartment. The noises from inside were even louder now.

"Apparently, they haven't figured out how to use the door yet," Rob remarked. "Sounds like they're just having too much fun to leave," said Circe.

Tintin took charge. "Alright, everyone, I think maybe just a few of us should go in for the game. The rest will be our backup in case those monkeys decide to get aggressive. In the meantime, though, we need to all be very quiet."

Rob nodded and slowly opened the door. The apartment was in absolute shambles, with the monkeys giddily destroying anything left that hadn't been broken yet. Tintin inched for the game, still where they had left it by the couch. As he reached for it, a squeal was heard behind everyone in the hallway.

"Hi, guys!"

Everyone whirled around the see Chubby Huggs, the world's friendliest cat, squeezing the life out of Bucky. His shrill cry of delight did not go unnoticed by the monkeys.

"What a wild party you guys are having!" Chubby raved enthusiastically as the monkeys charged forward.

It was truly a frenzy beyond description. A chimp-chattering, poop-flinging, flea-picking melee. To save you, dear readers, the trauma of the supernatural primates' assault, we shall cut to the outside of the apartment building after everyone managed to make it out more or less in one piece.

Circe gasped for air. "Wow, and I thought turkeys were bad."

Satchel looked around. "Where's Chubby?"

"I saw him clinging to one of those monkeys," reported Bucky. "How come he gets to win a fight?"

"I guess there's something to be said about being a lover, not a fighter," Rob joked, not noticing Circe smiling slyly at him.

"Do we dare roll again?" asked Snowy.

Tintin picked up the dice. "I suppose we must."

With a gulp, he rolled the dice and waited to see what the future held.


	5. Help?

Everyone looked nervously at the message that now appeared in the game board.

"If things are in complete disorder

Perhaps you'll find help from a porter."

Out of the game popped a strange-looking man with the smile and charm of a used car salesman.

"Greetings, friends, the name is J. Herge Slick, your friendly merchant here with the greatest deals this side of Monopoly!"

Circe groaned in annoyance. Everyone else raised their eyebrows. This was ...different.

"What, it was a joke!" continued Slick, not quite grasping that it wasn't his board game-based humor that was the source of the players' confusion.

"Would 'this side of Jenga' have been a better punchline? Ah, well, never mind. Regardless of your lack of a funny bone, I'm sure you have good taste in my rare exports."

"You're a human," Tintin stated, rather blankly.

"You could say that," Slick shrugged. He grinned down at the animals. "At least more human than these three."

Satchel whimpered, Bucky glared, and Snowy growled.

Circe grabbed Rob and Tintin by the hand and pulled them away. "Don't trust this guy. His gimmicks always lead to trouble. Just be happy that nothing actually dangerous came out this time."

Slick hastily caught up the gang as they started to depart, taking a special interest in Circe. "My dear, these are not mere 'gimmicks.' You are clearly a well-read woman. I won't pull the wool over your eyes here like I might some ordinary tourist. You have my word."

"Don't make me laugh," spat Circe.

"No, really!" whined Slick, continuing to follow Circe. "What would I be able to offer you? Anything that would truly perk your interest?"

"Nothing," Circe replied snippily.

Slick's mouth curled into a sly grin. "Not even a way to end this game immediately?"

That certainly caught Circe's attention, even if she didn't want to admit it. Slick, however, could read an interested person like a book. Without waiting for a reply, he whipped out a small pouch.

"With just a sprinkling of this dust on your dice," he explained, "they will roll the exact number you need to beat the game with. I guarantee it."

"Isn't that cheating?" Rob cautiously asked.

Slick scoffed. "My dear sir, I am part of this game. I am physically unable to cheat. You just got lucky that I happened to have this on me at this particular moment, that's all."

Circe raised her eyebrow. "Alright, bub. How much?"

Slim thought to himself for a moment, and then said, "a monkey tail. Those are hard to come by. The little buggers aren't willing to part with them most of the time."

"I want one, too!" shouted Bucky.

Snowy sniffed the air and shook his head. "I'm afraid I've lost the scent of those creatures. They're terrorizing someone else now."

"Shame," said Slick. "Well, if you happen to come across one, we can talk. Until then, adieu."

"What a waste!" grumbled Circe as they watched Slick slink off to try and make more deals with unsuspecting people.

"At least he wasn't dangerous," Rob pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't know if I feel right with him running around out here," countered Tintin.

"He doesn't belong in this world," Circe agreed. "So whose turn is it? The sooner we finish the game, the sooner all this stuff goes away."

Rob took the dice.


	6. A Medley of Mayhem

One roll later and the group was running for their lives from the most savage peacocks that they had ever seen. The wailing birds flapped and screamed, their squawking almost mirroring the screams of the bewildered heroes as they ducked for cover in an alley.

"Those things are usually annoying, not deadly!" whispered Circe as the peacocks rampaged down the street.

"This game has it out for us!" whined Bucky.

"I think that's the point," Satchel panted. "Well the point is stupid," Bucky grumbled. Circe took the dice and rolled without a word. Everyone looked at the game board, afraid of what awful verse would herald which awful creature.

"Be it evening, night, or morn

No one wants to feel this horn."

Everyone eyed each other warily. Once again, the sloppy couplet didn't disappoint, for a second later, a rhinoceros charged out from behind a brick wall in the alley. Everyone jumped out of the way of the falling debris and took off running again.

"At least it's not a whole stampede," Circe called to the others over the sound of the charging creature.

"Ever the optimist, aren't we?" Snowy called back with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

Soon, they had reached a large park by a lovely pond. A playground with an extensive jungle gym stood nearby. The rhino had apparently lost interest in them and had gone off to chase a few cars in traffic, causing general chaos in the other direction.

The group slumped to the ground, exhausted.

"I'm sorry," Tintin said quietly. "I'm sorry I bought this game."

"I'm sorry I played even though I knew what would happen," Circe added.

Rob looked at Circe, then at Tintin. He awkwardly cleared his throat and said, "well, I'm sorry that Bucky kept playing the game. I know he's not about to admit he was wrong himself."

Bucky was licking his paws calmly, hoping to look like he didn't care about anything.

"This is all my fault," Tintin sighed. "I think this is karma."

"Karma for what?" asked Circe. "You're a hero! You've saved so many people, done so many great things! What could this be karma for?"

Rob nodded, trying to look sincere (and mask his blatant jealously at this point).

Tintin shook his head. "No, this has been a long time coming. You see, I...I went to Africa once. On a hunting safari."

Everyone's eyes widened, aside from Snowy who had secretly been waiting for this to come up.

"I did such horrible things," Tintin continued. "I remember a monkey stealing Snowy. It was merely curious, but I panicked. I mean, he's my dog! I had to save him. So I killed another monkey and wore its skin to trick the one that had taken Snowy."

"You...wore its skin?" choked Satchel.

Tintin nodded silently.

"Did you eat it afterward?" Bucky asked with a hungry smile.

Ignoring him, Tintin continued. "I suppose that was somewhat justified, if only to save Snowy. I wish I had found a more peaceful way of retrieving him, however. But then I found a rhinoceros and I...I drilled a hole in its back, dropped a stick of dynamite in and blew it up. I literally blew up a rhinoceros."

Circe and Rob looked to Snowy, who nodded. This happened, alright.

"It...it was a different time," Tintin continued, not looking at the others. He seemed to just be talking to himself at this point. "Belgium was trying to colonize the Congo. I was naive. I believed anything I was told. I was a reporter still, but not a very good one. It was 1930, I..."

Circe slapped her hand over Tintin's mouth, stopping his rambling. "Tintin, look, we've all done things we regret. But we have to focus now. This isn't karma. This is just Jumanji and we're the only ones who can stop this now."

"Did he say 1930?" Rob asked no one in particular.

Satchel raised his paw. "Um, can we blow up that rhino over there? He's gotten into the subway tunnels somehow, and I don't think that's a good thing."

"No, I don't think the game works like that," said Circe, patting Satchel on the head.

"Well," continued Satchel, "then we should at least leave the park before someone rolls next. We're by the playground, and that's probably not a good thing, either."

"Good idea, Satchel," Rob said with a weak smile. Satchel's tail wagged. He didn't hear that often from anyone.

As they turned to pick up the board, they noticed the dice were in Bucky's paws. It was his turn, after all. And it was time to give them a roll.

"Bucky, wait!" shouted Rob.

But Bucky Katt was not the kind of person who could be told to wait. The dice were tossed and a new message appeared in the murky depths from the board's center.

"You're going to get a cheater's fate

You play fair, but can't learn to wait."

"What the heck does that mean?" asked Bucky.

Circe took a step back. "Uh, remember what I said about how this isn't karma? Well, apparently, Bucky really ticked the game off."

"How?" asked Rob.

"Uh...by being Bucky, I guess."

They glanced tensely at Bucky, who was beginning to twitch.

"Bucky," Satchel began quietly, "do you need to cough up a hairball?"

Bucky suddenly let out a piercing yowl that slowly turned into something very un-catlike. In but a moment, he had turned into...a monkey.


	7. Don't Feed the Plants

Everyone stared in shock at the transformed cat before them. Bucky scratched himself for a second, and then glanced down at his paw that now had fingers and an opposable thumb.

"Great snakes!" cried Tintin.

"More like a not terribly great monkey," Snowy whispered to himself with a chuckle.

"You...you okay?" Rob asked Bucky gently. Bucky slowly plodded over to Rob, looked him in the eye, and then jumped on his master frantically.

"I don't wanna be a monkey!" he howled. "I can't go through life being this delicious! The other cats will hunt me down! Or if I get too hungry, I might chew my own arm off and then I'll only have one arm and then the other cats will hunt me down even easier than they would have when I had two arms! Take me to the vet! You hear me! I wanna go to the vet! That's how bad this is!"

Circe helped yank Bucky off of his frazzled owner. Bucky immediately squirmed free and scampered off through the streets into the distance.

Satchel was after him in a flash. "I've got his scent, everyone! We'll be back!"

"Satchel! Bucky!" cried Rob. But both his pets were gone. He slumped against a wall.

"I've failed as a pet owner," he sighed. "Sure, I've always had trouble keeping them under control, but I've never straight up lost them like this. It is literally a jungle out there."

Circe took Rob's face in her hands and looked into his eyes. "We need to finish this game within the next three rolls, Rob. Bucky's one of the players. We can do this."

Rob silently nodded and turned to Tintin. "It's your turn now, right?"

"I suppose it is," murmured Tintin. He rolled the dice.

"They grow much larger than bamboo

Take care or they'll come after you."

This was met with another groan from Circe which Rob, Tintin, and Snowy all took as a bad sign...as always.

Suddenly, Tintin let out a loud yelp of fear. Circe angrily clamped her hand over his mouth.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "You want to lure the plants over here?"

Tintin composed himself. "I'm sorry, something touched my sensitive area."

"His ear," specified Snowy.

Rob looked down at a vine slowly curling around his leg. "Uh, that would mean the plants have already been lured, I guess."

Circe and Rob worked to untangle his ensnared leg, but by the time he was safe, Tintin and Snowy had been tied by the vines themselves and pulled off down the alley. Rob looked to them, then to Circe, and then back. Circe yanked his arm and they took off with the board game. They had to end things soon or the game would end them.

The took refuge inside the first building they came across-a lovely house-turned-museum. Beautiful artwork adorned the walls, statues filled the rooms, and a live jazz band (with a particularly soulful bass player) were having a jam session in the center.

"This is probably not the right place to play a board game of mass destruction," Rob whispered to Circe.

Wordlessly, Circe pointed outside at the approaching vines. Rob nodded, the answer being clear: Time was of the upmost essence.

Shakily, Rob took the dice. He was about to roll and then stopped.

"Come on!" urged Circe. "Don't be a pussy! Roll them!"

"I can't do it without...I..." Rob trailed off.

Circe was about to let out an exasperated groan, when she stopped herself and took Rob's hand. "Alright, what's wrong? Aside from the obvious."

"I'm not Tintin. He could handle this. I don't have the skills or the quick wits. I can't even control my own cat. He's the hero you deserve."

"Tintin's in trouble. So is Snowy. Bucky's a monkey and Satchel's...well, he needs you. We all do...now, Rob...honey...ROLL THE DICE!"

It was hard to argue with Circe when she took that tone.

"A hunter from the darkest wild

Makes you feel just like a child."

Circe looked pale.


	8. Fear

Rob found himself pulled down the hall and down a staircase. Once again, Circe was doing the pulling, although this time she seemed more urgent than ever, which was really saying something.

"What animal is coming now?" asked Rob.

Circe threw him into the ladies bathroom and slammed the door behind them. They were soon pressed tightly together in a stall.

"It's no animal," whispered Circe. "It's a hunter in the form of the person you feared the most at a young age."

Rob thought. "Who did I fear, anyway?"

"What, no bullies or anything?"

"Not really," shrugged Rob.

The bathroom stall was blasted off its hinges. Rob and Circe found themselves staring face to face with...a rather handsome teenager with a rifle.

"Kirk Brent!" cried Rob.

"Who?" asked Circe, looking the new guy over.

"The name's Van Pelt," spat the hunter. "And you rolled the dice, bro."

Rob and Circe bolted out of the bathroom as Kirk walked after him, taking his time. This dice-roller looked like a pushover, anyway.

"Who's Kirk Brent?" Circe called to Rob as they darted up the stairs.

"He was the best rugby player in high school!" Rob called back. "He was super cool, super popular, and he didn't even know I existed! He made me feel like such a loser!"

Circe screeched to a halt and grabbed Rob's shirt, stopping him as well.

"What a minute, Wilco! You're telling me that your personal demon from your youth is some high school jock who never actually antagonized you in any way? That he was just a guy you were jealous of and made you feel bad without actually going out of his way to hurt you at all?"

"...Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty stupid."

Circe balled her fists. She wasn't sure if she wanted to punch Rob or not, but she never got the chance. A shot rang out, and the two ducked. Kirk's shattered a marble statue next to them. Surprised, Circe backed up and almost fell over a balcony onto the jazz band below (who had all dispersed at the sound of the gunshot, except for that soulful bass man) before Rob pulled her forward.

He whipped around and gave Kirk a solid punch in face before he could reload. Then, Rob scooped Circe up and took off running.

The two tumbled down another staircase. With a plop, they landed on a couch, Rob on top of Circe. With a blush, Circe shoved Rob off and grabbed the dice. They had to end the game now! The two players who had their turns after her were pretty much out of commission!

Just as she was about to roll, she felt something grip her leg.

"The plants! They have me!" she squealed.

Looking down, she saw that it was not a killer plant, but a plump kitty. Chubby Huggs had returned.

"I need a comfort hug," he whined.

Rob looked around at the museum. Plant vines were crawling in and they could hear gunshots in the distance, Kirk having recovered from the belt to the face.

"Yeah," sighed Rob, "things are bleak, huh?"

"That poor monkey," Chubby continued. "I didn't mean to hurt him. But somehow, he...I..."

With a guilty look, Chubby held up a tail, sans monkey. "He lost something when we were running."

Circe and Rob snatched up the tail in an instant and looked into each other's eyes. A detached, bleeding tail was never anyone's idea of a good omen, but here and now, it was a welcome sight. Passionately, they embraced.

"Oh, Rob! We're gonna live!" Circe exclaimed gleefully.

"Yeah," Rob agreed, "but just in case we don't..."

Rob turned Circe's face to his and kissed her longer than he probably should've considering how much danger they were in. While they were only accompanied in real life by a bass player, they could hear a thousand and one strings in their minds, playing their favorite tune.

Another gunshot rang out, and the chase was on again, this time with a chubby cat who was still surprisingly nimble.

"Am I missing something?" panted Chubby.

"SLICK!" screamed Circe.

"You rang?" called a smooth voice. They looked over to see Slick relaxing in a corner with a newspaper. Circe wordlessly thrust the tail in his face.

Slick grinned and handed her a small bag of powder. "Excellent, babe. I'm really very impressed. Sprinkle the powder on the dice and roll."

Circe obeyed and then rolled the dice, praying that Slick wasn't a liar.

"JUMANJI!"

Slick might have been a slimeball, but he was a slimeball of his word. In an instant, the game had been won. The museum, which seconds before had threatened to cave in over their heads was standing again. The priceless artwork was lovely as ever. The whole jazz band had rejoined the bass player.

Rob and Circe looked at each other and shared another kiss. They had earned this one. Just then, they heard some laughter. They broke their embrace and saw Tintin, Snowy, Bucky, and Satchel running over.

"Not bad, Pinkish!" Bucky admitted, happy to be a cat again. "She's outta your league, though. I knew she was a mental case. She had to be."

Satchel and Snowy cuddled around Circe's legs. Circe thought she could hear Satchel mumble something about a mom, but she wasn't sure.

"You both really came through," smiled Tintin, with a wink at Rob.

"Group hug!" cheered Chubby. For once, no one was annoyed. If any occasion called for a group hug, it was this one.


	9. Epilogue

The game was donated to the museum. They rarely took in new art pieces, but something about the beautiful design was enough for the owners to make an exception. It was put in a glass case on full display, hopefully never to be removed again.

Rob found himself at a different antique store a few days later, browsing. It felt like a stupid thing to do, given what had happened with their previous outing, but maybe if he made a strict "no board games" rule, things would be okay.

He left the store with his purchase in a box. The sun was setting, and the weather was lovely. He hoped Circe would like his present. He and Tintin both had some wonderful pets (yes, even Bucky) and he knew that Circe had always wanted one. And he'd never seen this strange creature that was on sale before. It was cute! Circe would love it.

The only thing he was a little confused about was why he wasn't supposed to feed it after midnight.

THE END


End file.
